Grandfather

Two months had passed since Li Zian started his cultivation at the mere age of three. If others heard of such a thing, there'd be an outcry.

Li Zian finished his cultivation for the day, sweat dripping down his small body and drenching his robes.

He had been cultivating every day for five hours for the past two months and had been making great progress.

The technique tempered and trained his entire body, so now he had strength comparable to a fully grown adult despite being three.

He wondered just how strong he'd be in another few months. It excited him, the possibility of one of his punches destroying a wall or snapping trees with a palm strike.

Shortly after he began to cultivate, his brother Li Shen's impurities were fully expelled so he joined him in the cultivation room below the villa for five hours.

There was plenty enough spiritual energy down there for them to share, so the addition didn't change his cultivation speed.

Although Li Shen's cultivation speed wasn't as fast as Li Zian's, it was still quite fast according to their father.

And so the two cultivated every day for two months, and time flew by.

Li Zian spent most of his days reading in the library or taking walks around the villa grounds when not cultivating.

The villa itself was a two-story tall luxurious wooden building and around it were several woodlands areas, the koi fish pond, a small stone platform arena, and some meadows filled with beautiful plants and spiritual herbs.

It was peaceful, but Li Zian always wondered what lies beyond the massive stone walls that surround the villa grounds.

These walls were twenty metres tall and extremely thick with no visible entrance or exit. They surrounded the villa grounds.

One day Li Zian approached the wall and discovered inscriptions carved into it, like the ones in the cultivation room's spiritual array. He asked his father about it and got a vague but chilling response.

"Father, why is there an array around the villa?" He asked.

Li Zixin was shocked to learn his son had discovered the array, but then realised it made sense since he had been in the cultivation room a lot.

"The array around the villa is there to keep you and your brother safe. That's the same reason we have so many guards," he smiled.

Right, the guards. Li Zian had gotten used to their existence, and most of the time they never revealed themselves- hiding in the shadows and only appearing when his mother or father called for them.

They were elusive and mysterious, but Li Zian could tell that they were much weaker than his father.

He pondered about his mother's cultivation level too and went to ask her about it. However he discovered a strange sight…

An old man stood inside the villa's hall, speaking with his mother. This old man had long, thin grey hair that fell down his back and a scruffy grey beard.

He wore silver robes with golden dragons woven into it, just like his father's robe. Nobody else wore such robes other than his father, so Li Zian could only come to one conclusion…

This man was powerful!

He watched carefully, and suddenly the old man vanished.

He was confused for a moment before he felt a hand rest on his shoulder.

"Why, young man, who might you be?"

Li Zian nearly jumped out of his skin and cried out. "Ack!" He leapt forwards, stumbled and fell onto his bottom.

He scrambled away from the old man who stood behind where he had just been standing. The old man was grinning.

"Father-In-law, please don't tease him too much," his mother smiled, and the old man nodded apologetically.

'Father-In-law… That means it's father's father… Which means…'

"You're my grandfather?" Li Zian asked with a surprised look.

"Oh, so you must be Li Zian?" The old man asked, looking him up and down.

Suddenly, Li Zian felt a chill all over, as if a thousand eyes were watching him. 'What was that?'

The sensation vanished when the old man turned his gaze away, back up to his mother.

"He's indeed talented, already cultivating by the age of three. He's also tempered his body quite well so far- I reckon he'll have fully tempered his body in another three to four months."

"So soon?" His mother asked, slightly shocked.

"Mhm. He seems to have zero impurities inside of him, which is rare. It means the speed at which the spiritual energy enters his body is much faster, and unhindered. He's got a bright future ahead of him."

Li Zian stared at the old man. No, his grandfather.

"Zian'er, this is your grandfather, Li Huizhong. Be respectful to him," She smiled calmly.

"I see… Er… Greetings, Grandfather," He saluted to him with his fist in his palm, and his grandfather chuckled.

"This kid is a true talent, already acting like a fully grown kid despite being so young. I'm afraid of what a monster he'll become when he's older."

"Stop that, he won't become a monster. My sweet child will forever be innocent."

"Oh, stop dreaming. Now, Li Zian, let me see your techniques," His grandfather grinned.

"Uh… I don't know any techniques," Li Zian told him truthfully. Was he supposed to have learnt some?

"What? Has my useless son not taught you anything?"

Ah, so it was his father's fault.

"He taught me how to cultivate, but that's it. Oh, and he taught me some things like the realms—"

"That's not good enough. You need to learn a technique to be a true cultivator!" He huffed.

"Father-In-law, he's only three, and he's not even halfway through his body tempering. At least wait until he can use qi before letting him learn a technique."

"Hmph, fine. Since my cute daughter-In-law says so, I'll allow it. Boy, you have three months to get to the Qi Condensing Realm! Good luck!" His grandfather grinned and then vanished.

'Three months? I guess I should increase the time I cultivate by another hour…'

He sighed and looked up at his mother. She seemed to be in deep concentration, but then she snapped out of it and smiled at him. "Why don't you go play with your brother?"

Li Zian nodded and made his way outside. However he quickly discovered another strange scene.